


Stronger Than You Know

by heartsdesire456



Category: My Engineer (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Coming Out, Family Issues, Gen, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Infidelity, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:47:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24954028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: Sometimes, relationships are complicated. Sometimes families are even more complicated.
Relationships: King/Ram (My Engineer)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 249





	Stronger Than You Know

**Author's Note:**

> Basically I had an idea about the complexities of the situation Ram's family is in and I thought, as much as you hate to see it, Ram's parents have been married a long time. Sometimes couples have issues others don't know about after that long married. It's no excuse, but it's a real thing that happens.
> 
> This won't be super popular to some people, especially the younger you are or your experiences with infidelity, and I am kind of in the 'kick his ass you fiend' camp. However, what King says to Ruj is something worth being said. Relationships are difficult and I do get annoyed when people judge a woman for staying with a spouse who cheats on them, because it's not like you've been dating a few months, they've been married 20+ years. Sometimes shit is complicated and I do understand some situations where a couple stays together and tries to work through it for whatever their reason.
> 
> So yeah this isn't much more than that, just some family relationship drama.
> 
> **NOTE: when Ram's mother is speaking English it's in italics**

Ram knew that Ruj was too smart for his own good. Ruj was very observant and very good at reading people. That’s why he wasn’t surprised, though he was upset, when Ruj showed up at King’s condo one night very late, crying. “Ruj?!” he asked, bringing him inside. “Ruj, what’s wrong?”

“Is dad doing something bad?” Ruj asked without hesitation. Ram’s heart sank. He guided him inside and King looked up from the couch.

“Oh, hey. Cool Boy’s brother, right?” he asked him, only for his smile to fall when he saw the tears on the boy’s face. “Hey, what’s up?” he asked, moving to the side so Ram could sit Ruj down.

“What do you know?” Ram asked in a gentle tone.

Ruj looked at him with his wide, helpless eyes. “Something’s wrong. I’ve noticed it for a long time. But I realized there’s a pattern. He gets calls for ‘work’ late at night, the same nights every week. And then I called his secretary at work from a different phone and said ‘my dad is running late for his meeting with your boss’ and she said he didn’t have any meetings at night.” He looked at Ram with utter hurt in his eyes. “Is Dad doing something illegal?”

Ram bit his lip and looked at King, who looked utterly upset for them. Ram looked at him. “Ruj. I don’t think you want to know.” He looked at him, wanting him to understand he shouldn’t ask any questions, but instead, it became obvious that Ruj just saw it in his eyes and understood, because his breath hitched.

“He’s cheating on mum, isn’t he?” Ruj asked, and Ram just looked him in the eyes and said nothing. Ruj’s face crumpled and Ram once again wanted to go fight his father.

“Come here,” he said, and Ruj fell into his chest, crying in his arms as he held him.

Ram knew he shouldn’t contact his father ever again, but he looked at King and looked at his own phone on the table. King seemed to understand and he picked it up. Ram shook his head when he held it out and held up his hand behind Ruj’s back, miming until King smiled sadly and did what he said: Took a picture of Ruj crying his eyes out in Ram’s arms.

After a while, Ram called his mother and told her Ruj had fallen asleep and was going to spend the night since it was late. After that, he sat at the table and shakily typed out the last text he planned to every type to his father.

_I hope you’re happy with yourself_  
_[1 IMG Attached]_

~

King held Ram when they went to bed, because Ram was visibly vulnerable. “Do you want to talk?”

“No.” Ram looked at him and King just held his gaze, stroking Ram’s side gently. King didn’t stop looking until Ram closed his eyes and went to sleep. 

However, not much longer, King heard crying from the living room again. He gently got out of bed, careful not to disturb Ram, and went to go check on Ruj. When he walked out, he saw him curled up on the couch, looking at his phone. Having nephews and being the youngest in his family, he had a soft sport for children. Ruj was no more than thirteen or fourteen he would guess, just a kid. No child should have to go through something as upsetting as being betrayed by a parent. 

“Are you alright?” he asked, walking over. Ruj looked up and started wiping his face and King smiled sadly. “Don’t worry. It’s okay to cry,” he told him, sitting on the coffee table in front of him. 

Ruj sniffled. “I don’t understand. Why would he do that?” he whispered. “And why didn’t Ram tell me?”

King sighed. “Who would want to put this burden on someone he loves? You knowing doesn’t make him any less of a cheater, does it?”

“No,” Ruj mumbled, looking down. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Nothing,” King said softly. “I know you want to, but you can’t stop him and if you tell your mom, it will just make her upset like you and Ram are.”

“But she deserves to know,” Ruj said desperately. “How can I look at him and not hate him for lying to her? She’s my mother.”

King didn’t really know what to say. “You should talk to him,” he said gently. “I know you don’t want to and I know it will be very uncomfortable. But he needs to know that he hurt you and that you don’t forgive him for that.” 

“He’ll just say I can’t understand because I’m a kid,” Ruj muttered.

“Probably,” King confirmed. “But just stay calm and tell him you understand that your mother deserves better. I don’t know your dad so it may be useless,” he said sadly. “But maybe it will make him stop to hear from his youngest child that he’s hurting them all by doing what he’s doing.”

Ruj pouted and he looked so, so young. “If he stops, it won’t undo that he did it. Mum deserves to be able to leave him. He doesn’t love her if he would hurt us all like this.”

King didn’t have any experience with such grown up situations, but he had observed enough in his life to understand that things weren’t always black and white. “I’m not trying to tell you his actions are excusable. But I know that at my age, I’ve seen enough to know people are complicated and relationships are worse than just individuals. I’m not saying he had any right to cheat on your mother. Ram says she’s a wonderful woman who loves her husband,” he said with a hint of bitterness. “But they may have problems you don’t see. And sometimes, people can forgive someone for making bad choices. Your family being together might be something that makes it worth it for her to try and understand and forgive him and try to stay together. I’ve never been cheated on, but I know that love is a really strong feeling.” 

Ruj searched his eyes and King recognized another hyper-intelligent person when he saw their eyes and watched them thinking the way he did, with great analytical processing. “Do you love my brother?” he asked, and King was shocked by the change in subject.

“Yes,” he said, blushing. “I’ve never told him because we’ve only been together a little while, but I do. I’ve never met someone that understands me the way he does, and I think I understand him, too.”

Ruj nodded. “If- if he cheated on you,” he said, and King’s stomach turned just at the thought. “If he had a good reason, would you try to work it out?”

“I don’t know,” King said honestly. “But I’ve only known him a short while and dated only an even shorter one. Your mother and father have been married a long time and have been through a lot together. They are family. It’s not the same, but say my sister did something really bad and hurtful,” he tried, hoping Ruj could look at it from his bond with Ram. “If my sister said she hated me for loving another man and tried to break us up, I would resent her and probably hate her at the time. But, if later on she came back and said she understood she was wrong and that she was going through something that drove her to hurt me to try and make herself feel better, I would try to mend our relationship. The betrayal will never go away, but sometimes a person is suffering something we don’t see and they do bad things to try and feel better, but just hurt people they love in the process.” 

Ruj sniffled. “But your sister is your sister. You didn’t choose her.”

“I know, but if your parents have been married longer than I’ve been alive, that means they have a longer relationship than I do with my sister,” he said. “Some people choose their families, too. If your family sucks, you make your own family with friends who love you. They’re still your family without blood. Marriage is like making your partner in life your family.” He smiled sadly. “Sometimes they end. Sometimes they can’t be fixed. But sometimes people can work through something terrible to save their family.”

Ruj closed his eyes and King feared he had made a bad choice when he started crying again. “I don’t want to lose my dad,” he confessed. “I hate him right now but- but he’s my _dad_ ,” he stressed. “But I don’t understand how my mum could look at him again without wanting to never see him again.”

“I don’t either,” King said honestly. “And I don’t think Ram wants him to be there anymore. I think Ram wants him to leave and never come back. But at your age I understand. I wouldn’t know what to do without my parents when I was so young and going through a rough time in life without their advice. But I’m sure he loves you just as much as ever. He probably loves Ram the same, too.” King smiled sadly. “And even though it seems impossible, I have heard of people doing this to a wife they truly do still love because it’s their issues that are bothering them, and it has nothing to do with her.”

“I just can’t understand,” Ruj whispered. “She’s perfect, P’King,” he said, looking at him with tear-filled eyes. “Mum is perfect. Have you met her?” King shook his head. Ruj smiled, looking heartbroken. “She’s the kindest mother I could have ever hoped to have. She’s always taken care of us and loves us and she’s so good to everybody. She loves animals and she volunteers all the time even if her Thai isn’t good and she can’t understand some of the stuff they’re getting her to do. She’s an angel. And she loves Dad so much and does so much for him all the time. His watch broke and she learned how to fix it herself so she could make it work again.” King winced because, _damn_ , it really was so hard to understand how any husband could want anything more in love than such a good person. “And she’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen,” he finished with. “I don’t understand what more she could do to make him happy enough to not cheat on her?”

“I understand,” King said softly. “But sometimes, like I said, it isn’t her. Maybe it’s him. And that’s no excuse. But some people hurt in ways we don’t see and make bad choices to try and overcome that hurt. Ram is not going to say these things to you because he’s heartbroken. I never thought I would see him cry before that night he came here, that’s how badly he’s hurt.”

Ruj’s breath hitched. “My brother cried? I’ve never seen him cry,” he said quickly.

King nodded. “He was destroyed. His trust in someone he saw as the most inspirational person in his life was destroyed. So he really hates him right now. And I know you do, too. That’s why I’m saying all of this, because I’m the only person who knows that isn’t devastated, even if I am so hurt for you and your brother,” he added. Ruj smiled sadly.

“Thank you. For talking to me. Most people treat me like a little kid who can’t talk about grown-up stuff,” he said, and King knew that all too well.

“Take it from someone that was able to comprehend adult things at a young age,” King said. “I can tell you’re a lot like I am. You’re smart and you pick up on things that others would overlook. Observant and intelligent can lead to a lot of frustration when people don’t take you seriously.” He patted Ruj on the shoulder. “I know what it’s like to not be taken seriously. I know you still can’t really get it, but I knew you could at least hear these things and try to understand.”

Ruj nodded. “Thank you.”

“You should get some sleep,” King said, then hesitated and winced. “If you want to let the dogs out of their room so you can cuddle with them, feel free. Just watch them around my plants, okay?”

“Okay, P’King,” Ruj said, getting up to go to get his dogs for comfort. 

King didn’t get it, but he knew Ram felt better with the dogs close to him so it was only fair to let such a traumatized little boy seek comfort in his furry friends. 

~

Ruj was there when their father caught Ram and King holding hands out in the garden. He had been talking to them when they came over to visit, and he was sitting there on his football, looking up at them on the bench as they all talked about Ruj doing well in school and what he might do in the future, all while Ram held King’s hand on his lap without a care in the world.

“What the hell is that?!” Ruj’s heart sank and he looked up at his father, who had come to get them, no doubt, and was looking at Ram and King’s hands.

King tried to snatch it away, but Ram held tightly, looking at his father. “Holding my boyfriend’s hand. Problem?”

He looked disgusted. “ _Boyfriend_?! And in front of your brother! What the hell is wrong with you?”

“At least he’s not you,” Ruj snapped, anger flushing through him.

His father looked at him in shock, and then turned to Ram, looking angry. “I still can’t believe you told him. Do you know how hard it is to look him in the eyes at dinner? And look at him now! Defending _you_ over my problem-“

“He didn’t have to tell me shit,” Ruj said, standing up. Ram quickly stood up too, just in case he had to stop him, but Ruj didn’t plan to get close enough to his father to touch him. The thought made his skin crawl. “I’m not stupid, Dad. You think I can’t notice a pattern? The same nights every week you get ‘work calls’. And when I got sick of wondering what was going on, I called your office.” His father paled. “They said you weren’t at work. And I’m not an idiot. When I went to Ram to ask if he moved out because he caught you doing something bad, he didn’t have to say anything for me to see it in his eyes. I just haven’t figured out how to talk to you about it. I know you know, Ram told me he sent you a picture. I was waiting for you to bring it up, since you’re the grown-up in this situation.”

His father looked livid. “You’re a child, Ruj. I don’t owe you-“

“You owe me an explanation. A conversation,” Ruj said angrily. “P’King told me I’m not able to understand that not everything is black and white and he convinced me I should give you a chance to explain and maybe not hate you, but I think he was wrong.” He looked at him coldly, the fight going out of him. “How dare you say Ram having a boyfriend is bad when you have a wife and a girlfriend?” he asked, and he saw his father’s eyes widen. “P’King is good and Ram is good. You don’t get to say anything when you’re not good at all. You’re bad, and you’re bad to the best person I know. How can you call them wrong when you’re so much more wrong than anything they could ever be? At least Ram loves his partner enough to treat them with respect and not betray them.”

“Ruj…”

“I’m going to wash up for the dinner _Mum_ cooked for all of us because she loves us,” he said bitterly, shoving past his father on the way just for a brief moment of satisfaction. 

~

Ram saw the moment that Ruj realized it was Pin. Mum had invited her over to join them since Ram had a friend over already, and she accepted, settling herself between Ruj and their father’s head of the table spot. It was hard to not show emotions already before he saw his father smile at Pin and offer her food, and when they looked at each other, Ruj saw them and his eyes widened. 

“Wait,” he blurted out, and Ram panicked, looking at King for help. “What-“

“Yes, you’re right, I do think it’s time to speak up!” King said quickly, then looked at Ram, panicked as well.

“ _What is it, Ram_?” his mother asked, going slow for their guests, clearly unsure of their level at English. 

Ram looked at King, and gave him a look that he hoped made it clear. King’s eyes widened a bit but he nodded subtly. “Um. Mum, I brought P’King here for dinner for a reason,” he said, lying though his teeth, but wanting to avoid such an ugly confrontation that Ruj was likely to start out of the pain he was in. He could see Ruj staring at Pin still and he thought Pin looked a bit pink, probably knowing what he realized. “Mum, Dad, Pin,” he added, giving her a cold look that he hoped let her know that he knew about her. “P’King and I are together. Romantically. I live with him now,” he said, grabbing King’s hand off the table to show them.

Pin looked shocked, his father gritted his teeth, but thankfully, as he looked at his mother, she was openly surprised, but when she looked at their hands, her smile softened. “ _Oh Ram. I’m so happy you found someone you care for that much,_ ” she said, and all the stress left him immediately. She stood up and came around the table to hug him to her middle. “ _Oh, and to live together already? You must really love him,_ ” she said, cupping his face in her hand. She smiled down at King. “ _Treat my son well, yes? You will never have problems with me if you do._ ” She smiled at her husband and Ram’s heart sank again. “ _Isn’t it wonderful, Dear? What more could we want than for someone to love our boys the way I love you?_ ” she asked, and then Ram saw the last thing he expected.

There was a coldness in her eyes as she stared at her husband, and Ram’s father paled rapidly. “Y-Yes, Dear,” he said, and she gave Pin a tight smile that was very pointed before she went back to her seat, taking Ram’s hand in hers as she sat. “Aren’t you a little worried, however, about him being- uh- being with another man? It’s not very accepted.”

“ _It is by me_ ,” she said simply, smiling at Ram. “ _A loving partner is all I care about for my boys. I know Ram would never treat the person he loves badly, and I trust he has better judgement than some to treat Nong King well, too._ ” She looked Ram in the eyes and he could see that she knew why he moved out and it broke his heart. “ _I am happy you found someone who makes you feel safe and loved and don’t have to ever feel not good enough for him. If King makes you happy and values you, that is all I care for. Not all men are good men, but him being a man has nothing to do with your love being something to be envied._ ”

“I love you, Mum,” he said softly, and she smiled and nodded, squeezing his hand tightly to show how much she was holding back. He truly had never known anybody as strong as his mother.

He looked at his father and saw the defeat in his eyes, and he knew that he understood something very important: his wife was stronger than him, better than him, and smarter than him. He hoped very much that his father truly realized the gravity of the pain he was causing his family and had to live with that the way they all would, too.

But most importantly, he was proud to be the son of an incredible woman who supported and loved her children above all else. She truly was amazing.


End file.
